


Dragons, Like Onions

by EzraTheBlue



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Community: yuletide_smut, Innuendo, M/M, Medical Squick, Multi, blood mention, fantasy anatomy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 17:57:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9336005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/pseuds/EzraTheBlue
Summary: Goujun is wounded, and only his subordinates can get close enough to do anything about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lepetiterik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lepetiterik/gifts).



> The original prompt was: "Kenren/Tenpo/Gojun - post battle, patching each other up." 
> 
> I had a few ideas for this before crystallizing around focusing on Goujun. My only regret is that I couldn't make it smuttier. And that absolutely nobody caught the Shrek reference. (Does anyone remember that bit about "layers" from the beginning?)
> 
> Thanks again to Whymzycal for her beta work! I'm grateful to have someone willing to review my work, even though I write a lot. @-@

Goujun, in his pride, considered his defenses impenetrable. It was rare that anything got past his armor, let alone his scales. Despite holding the form of a man, he carried himself with the stature of a dragon and fought with the same ferocity. Somewhere in the midst of the fray, though, Goujun had felt something, a minor sting in his side, but he swiped it off with a fling of a clawed hand and roared back into the chaos for vengeance. Now that the dust had settled and the Western Army had collapsed into little circles to rest their bones and lick their wounds, the adrenaline had sopped out in his sweat and he was starting to feel the pain again. Still, he could check himself for damage later. Instead, he sought out the Field Marshall and General, his adjutants, for the report.  
  
The soldiers were spread out in groups along the canyon ground where Tenpou had led the army they were facing into a bottleneck; field medics were darting about to treat the wounded, but Goujun strode above it all, hoping that nobody dared lay an eye on him to catch him staggering. The General was most easily found: sprawled near an outcropping of rocks that appeared painted, his favored silver charm gleaming against his bare chest, and the Field Marshall was at his side (as he ever was) his hair loose from its tie, kneeling at General Kenren's side with a roll of bandages. General Kenren's mouth was (again, as it ever was) moving, but Goujun only began to make out his words as he got closer.  
  
"... rough on us today." He leaned back to give Tenpou better access to the jagged slice on his shoulder, his tones languid yet strained as Tenpou cleaned the wound with some gauze and some clear liquid that made Goujun's nose wrinkle at twenty paces. "Can you believe the nerve on these guys? No etiquette. I kept shouting the safeword, but they kept on."  
  
"That's not particularly funny." Tenpou loosened Kenren's greatcoat and wrapped the bandages in a diagonal loop around his chest and shoulder. Goujun arrived in an intimate speaking distance, feeling strangely winded and trying to quietly suck in air as he waited for Tenpou to finish chiding and doctoring Kenren. "They are the enemy. We cannot expect mercy. After all, if they're kind to you --" He punctuated by tearing the bandage off, resulting in a little pained noise from Kenren at the tug. "I'll have to be something else." With that, he turned and saluted Goujun. "My lord, apologies for the delay. Kenren, are you in shape such as to report?"  
  
"Mm." Kenren traced the perimeter of the bandage on his shoulder, then flipped his hand in a careless salute. "I've reported in worse shape. Sir."  
  
Tenpou helped Kenren stand, and both stood at attention, though Goujun felt himself sagging. Was he always this much smaller than them? He gathered his wits and dignity and forced them into his words. "At ease, gentlemen." Both of them lowered their hands from salute. "I take it we've won the day."  
  
"The targets have been neutralized, sealed, or otherwise turned back." Kenren, despite sounding bored, clearly had a grip on the situation. "Seems like the Black Forest Army won't be giving Heaven trouble anytime soon. However, their advantages in numbers meant they were able to exploit the weaknesses in our line, so we had quite a few casualties before we could turn around to the offensive."  
  
"Mm." The pain in Goujun's side twinged to remind him it was there. "How many lost?"  
  
Tenpou cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. "None. However, some injuries are serious." Goujun felt Tenpou's eyes lingering on him but ignored the sensation of his intense stare.  
  
"Very well. And I imagine you are making plans to shore up our defensive line for our next mission?"  
  
"No, sir." Tenpou was still studying Goujun – or was it examining? It was impossible to tell, and Goujun was starting to feel too tired to think about it. What he'd said, however, stuck, and he fixed Tenpou with a scowl. Unfazed, Tenpou coolly explained, "Our men performed to the best of their abilities. We were overwhelmed, taken by surprise. The unexpected disadvantage in numbers was our only fault, and that was beyond our control."  
  
"Then how can we be better prepared for the next time?" Goujun tried to draw himself up, but Kenren unexpectedly stepped forward.  
  
"We can't be ready for the next one if we ain't done with now. You're bleeding through your clothes." He pointed at Goujun's side, and Goujun glanced down to see the white of his tunic stained crimson from the inside. Tenpou clicked his tongue as Kenren circled behind Goujun and knelt to look closer.  
  
"I had thought as much. Kenren, please help me administer field medicine."  
  
"Sir." Kenren suddenly seized Goujun under the arms. "Let's get him behind the rocks, where the men can't see him."  
  
"Unhand me, General!"  
  
“No can do, sir. I've got my orders.”  
  
“You ordered yourself!” Goujun thrashed, but that just made his side _ache_ , and Tenpou sighed and helped catch Goujun by the feet.  
  
“Ah, but as you are incapacitated with injury, he and I are the highest authorities on the field, and as I agree with his orders, they stand.”  
  
Goujun tried to twist from their grasp again, but to no avail. Tenpou was holding tight, and though Kenren's grip was shaky – his shoulder likely still hurt – being dropped meant being dragged by his ankles. The pain was starting to actually distract him, and his tunic was damp against his skin. He finally let himself go limp and be carried behind the rock. Tenpou set his legs down first, and Kenren sat without letting go of Goujun's arms, trapping Goujun in Kenren's lap. Tenpou grabbed his pack from where it was laid on the rock and grabbed the fresh roll of bandages and a little medical kit, and Goujun felt Kenren working his armor loose. He tried to give Kenren an annoyed look through the sting of pain, but Kenren gave him a self-assured smirk in return.  
  
"You've shown me your teeth a few too many times for me to actually be intimidated by 'em. Keep them fangs in, we're just trying to help."  
  
"I do not need your help." He grunted as Kenren got his armor loose, and Tenpou lifted his shirt and clicked his tongue.  
  
"It's an arrowhead. It got through your scales and is lodged an inch deep in your side. If we don't treat this correctly and immediately, it could spell trouble."  
  
Kenren nodded, then muttered a gruff, "With all due respect, sir; you're full of it."  
  
Tenpou opened Goujun's tunic, then pushed the bottom of it up and under the broad plane of his shoulders. Goujun grunted and looked down at the wound. He could see the jagged end of an arrow's shaft jutting from just under his rib and blood sluggishly dripping out around the puncture, and felt panic race through him like a burst of cold water through his veins. He had surely broken the rest of the arrow off when he'd first felt it strike, and now Tenpou was rubbing his lower lip as he studied it.  
  
"It's not deep, but arrows are not meant to simply come out. If it moves deeper, then it could cause serious damage." Tenpou fixed Kenren with a meaningful but unreadable stare. "I will have to remove the arrowhead and close the wound."  
  
"Take me back to the Western Palace." Goujun hated the note of panic in his voice, but he had no strength to suppress it. He'd never had a wound this serious before, and the thought of it overwhelmed him. If the arrowhead were removed incorrectly, he'd bleed out quickly. "I have attendants there."  
  
"There is no time. I will not risk your life by moving you." Tenpou fixed his glasses. "Kenren, hold him tight and still. I am going to remove the arrowhead, but I'll have to clear some of the scales near the wound." He fished into his pack again and found a differently shaped blade, one with a rounded shape. "I'm going to clean this one off."  
  
Goujun scented rotten fish and grimaced. "I supposed you thought you would get some fishing in, General?"  
  
Kenren chuckled warmly and with only a hint of embarrassment. "Hey, a wise fisherman always has a boner, just in case."  
  
Tenpou sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Boning kit. Please call it a boning kit. And it will be very useful for removing some of your scales."  
  
Goujun grimaced, even as Tenpou rubbed something with the strong, heady scent of alcohol and chemicals on the blade. Kenren hadn't let go of him, keeping his arms looped around Goujun's arms and shoulders. However, as Tenpou put the cleaned blade near his skin, Kenren tightened his grip. Goujun chafed at the restriction, the instinct of "I could rise up and swallow you" blaring from the pit of his heart, but Kenren's hands were shaking a little and Goujun knew he didn't even have to bare his fangs. Despite his nerves, Kenren put a smile on for Goujun and touched his chin.  
  
"Hey, look above me. Check that out." He pointed up, behind his head, and Goujun squinted towards the sun and the boulders they were behind. “See the rocks?” Goujun waited for his eyes to adjust, even as he keenly sensed Tenpou waiting at his side, unmoving. “See the stripes?” The rocks, which had looked painted from afar, were banded in different shades of red, brown, and gray, and Kenren scraped at the rock behind his shoulder with his thumb before wrapping it around Goujun's shoulder again. “Clay.”  
  
Goujun frowned with curiosity. “What does th-tha– ” Tenpou made the first scrape at Goujun's scales then, and Goujun jawed his agony. The arrowhead shifted in his side, but Kenren spoke low and gentle into his ear.  
  
“Tenpou told me, on the way here. They're sediment bands.” He held Goujun's gaze but lifted one hand away from holding Goujun still to pat a few different spots. “Tenpou figures a river runs through here in the wet season and carves a little more of this canyon away every year. Each of these bands is when a different kind of life existed on the earth, with different kinds of fossils packed in.” Goujun strained to focus on the rocks as Tenpou quietly worked. He was caught between morbid curiosity at Kenren's lesson and horror at knowing he was losing a protective layer. He'd counted on his scales like a snail did his shell, and beyond being offended that someone had dared breach his barrier, he felt naked at having the thin skin beneath exposed. “But this, see, this is the rings of the tree, or a crosswise slice of onion. You cut the world open and see all its layers, like this, and the deeper you go, the closer you get to how life started.” Kenren tried to hold his eyes even as he wrapped his arm back around Goujun. “I thought it was cool.”  
  
“I'd be happy to explain in full later,” Tenpou murmured, before scraping a particularly large stroke. Goujun grunted at the sensation – not pain, more like pressure. Exposure. The air was cold on his naked skin, and Goujun unconsciously writhed. “Lord Goujun.” Tenpou set the knife down and put his hand over Goujun's where he'd been scratching at the dirt. “Please be still. I need to clean the other side, just a little.” Goujun realized, with his hand against Tenpou's palm, that he'd been shaking. He averted his eyes, hoping he could preserve his pride behind a wall, but Tenpou smiled reassuringly nonetheless. “Look at Kenren. We're going to take care of you.”  
  
Goujun ground his teeth together, and Kenren gave him a squeeze. “Hey, c'mon. Just us. We've all known each other long enough, you don't gotta put up a front. Are all dragons this proud?”  
  
“You know nothing of pride until you have met my brothers,” Goujun spat back. Kenren snickered, and Goujun could only groan his frustration. "You're mocking me!"  
  
"Nah. I'm actually kind of freakin' out, but I know we got you." Kenren ran his crooked, callused fingers through Goujun's hair, and Goujun cringed. The gentle touch was strange, but strangely welcome. He could hardly feel gentler hands through his scales, so a light touch to his hair was –  
  
“Curse you!” A painful contrast to the knife against his skin again.  
  
Tenpou ignored Goujun's stifled complaints and went about scaling the wound with all the confident calm and cool of a trained fishmonger, but the noise, the pressure of the knife that close to his skin, it was raking Goujun's nerves. "It's nearly clean. Just hold still, as still as you can." Goujun ground his teeth and tried to ignore the scraping he could still hear and feel, and Kenren wrapped his arm incrementally tighter around his chest. Finally, Tenpou set the rounded blade down and moved to cup Goujun's cheek. "The area is clear. I didn't nick the skin once. You did well."  
  
"Are you patronizing me?" Goujun scowled, summoning up as much dignity as he could from his prone position between Kenren's legs. "Get on with it."  
  
Kenren chuckled softly and squeezed. "Ease up, sir, we're doin' our best."  
  
"When I cut in and remove the arrowhead," Tenpou went on blithely, as if he hadn't heard Goujun's rebuke, "It is going to bleed. I will apply pressure as quickly as possible. However, you may experience some pain. Please do not move. If you should jerk and cause me to move the arrowhead, it may push deeper into you and puncture something vital, at which point you will be beyond aid. I do not wish to lose you."  
  
"Me either," Kenren added, and smirked. "After all, we only just got to your creamy inner layer."  
  
"You impetuous – go on, then! Cut me open!" Goujun planted both of his feet to hide the quaking in his every extremity. Tenpou studied him – no, admiring, this time, and smiled cryptically.  
  
“And here I never thought I'd see your core. Under your scales and armor, though... ah, but then we weren't here to talk of layers, weren't we?” Tenpou took up the small knife, doused it with that strong-smelling liquid from a brown bottle and wiped it dry on a kerchief, then got his lighter out. “Kenren, hold him still.”  
  
“Sir.” Kenren spread his legs a little more and pulled Goujun up against his chest, but adjusted Goujun's angle to give Tenpou access. “You gonna go nice and easy, or quick?”  
  
“Quietly.” Tenpou held the flame of his lighter against the blade for a moment, then tested its sharpness against the flat of his thumb. “Goujun, look at Kenren again.”  
  
Goujun felt a strange noise escape him – something like a keen, _not a whine, Dragons do not whine,_ but tipped his head back so that all he could see was Kenren's face. Kenren wasn't quite smiling anymore, but he kept one arm around Goujun's chest and used his other hand to hold Goujun's chin. “It's gonna be okay. We got you.”  
  
Goujun felt the bite of the knife in his bare flesh and bit his lip. Kenren bowed his head against his, and Goujun thought he heard him talking, but nothing penetrated the pain and pressure. He'd always had his armor, his scales, and distance to keep him safe, but here, in the fray, dominated by superior numbers and overwhelmed, he had nothing.  
  
Then, there was something. “It's okay. He's gotten it out and he's stitching you up now.” Goujun dared open an eye and found Kenren smirking at him again. “Nice and quick, just like I thought he'd do. Who knew you were as tough on the inside as you were out?”  
  
Tenpou chuckled from his place on his knees at Goujun's side. “We are fortunate to count you as one of ours, sir.” Goujun glanced down just in time to see the needle pass through the baby-pink skin. His stomach lurched at the thought, but Tenpou set one hand steady on his shoulder and squeezed. “Only a moment longer.”  
  
Goujun held his breath, steadied by the hands of the other two, somehow secure in knowing that he was at their mercy when he was at his most vulnerable. Kenren had gone from holding him to stroking his chest, muttering nonsense that he likely didn't think Goujun would here, “That's right, baby, almost there.” Something tugged at Goujun's skin, and Tenpou smoothed his palm down the scales of his sides and over the naked pink skin.  
  
“All done.”  
  
Goujun had not heard that, because the touch of Tenpou's fingers on the unscaled skin had made something unspeakable lurch in his mind and heart.  
  
Dragons only lacked scales in one area of their bodies, even in human form. Tenpou had inadvertently stripped another spot naked, but it seemed that the sensitivity was there, too.  
  
The curious sensation of heat rolled through him, and his hips jerked. They'd come this far, this close, they had touched him so intimately and with such care, that his furious control of his instincts and true nature was starting to crumble. “Let go of me,” he hissed, and clamped down on it again. Kenren's sweet smiles and Tenpou's soft touch were too much. Tenpou, however, raised an eyebrow, but ran his fingers across the plane of Goujun's abdomen.  
  
“Sir.” He touched a thumb to Goujun's hip, his tones low and intimate, and Goujun blinked through the shade to try and read his expression. Tenpou was placid and calm on the surface, as ever, but his focus was intense. “I realize you may be feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Take a breath. We're here with you.”  
  
“Yeah,” Kenren agreed in a rumble from behind him. “How 'bout we just sit here with you until you're ready to move again?”  
  
Goujun didn't answer, but Tenpou moved to sit beside him, Kenren slid out from behind him, and he found himself neatly bolstered by the pair of them, leaned against the layered rocks and shoulder to shoulder with his subordinates. He heard Tenpou's lighter again, smelled burning tar and formaldehyde, and watched Tenpou pass a lit cigarette over to Kenren on his left. Kenren contently took a drag and sighed the smoke out, as Tenpou lit up for himself, then both of them offered him their cigarette.  
  
“You both know I don't smoke.” He sulked a little, slouching, and Kenren snickered and withdrew his hand, putting his cigarette back between his lips.  
  
“I didn't know if maybe your soft, creamy center did.”  
  
“Kenren, please.” Tenpou reached behind Goujun and tugged Kenren's ear. “Let's not patronize our superior officer.”  
  
Goujun gathered his pride again, even as he sank a little further between them. “Gentlemen.” Both of them looked towards him, and he glanced between them. The sun had sank a little lower, but he'd completely adjusted to the shadow of the canyon and was able to see clearly through the fading pain, and spoke, as mild and bittersweet as the center of an onion, “I am still injured and thus am not a superior officer. Until I am on my feet again, we are merely fellow soldiers. Treat me as such.”  
  
Kenren and Tenpou traded curious expressions, then each smiled in his own way and settled against the rock next to Goujun again. When he recovered, when it was time to lead their men back to Heaven, he could scold them, but for now, he was as much man as dragon.  
  
Leave it to his clever subordinates to get under his skin and past his defenses without his say-so.


End file.
